A reflection by Catherine Milton, founding director of Stanford University’s Haas Center for Public Service.

Don Kennedy, former President of Stanford University and co-founder of Campus Compact and California Campus Compact, died on April 21, 2020 from COVID-19.

Don Kennedy’s first commencement speech as President of Stanford University called upon graduates to devote some of their time and talent to public service. His first use of discretionary money was to hire me, Catherine Milton, as his Special Assistant on Public Service. He understood the times —students were getting the message that “greed is good” and that making a lot of money was the career goal they were hearing.

But he knew that students had a deep desire to “make a difference” and if asked, they would serve.  He knew, from his first-hand experience as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that service could give deep meaning to one’s life.  During his presidency at Stanford, Don made the public service center, now called the Haas Center for Public Service, a key initiative. Because of his national service and his efforts to create a Public Service Center at Stanford, he could speak with authority about the need for higher education to prepare students for lives of engaged citizenship. 

In 1985, when approached by Frank Newman, the head of the Education Commission of the States, to join a conversation with Howard Swearer of Brown University and Fr Healy of Georgetown University to figure out how they could use the presidential platform to impact the national conversation, Don enthusiastically joined forces. As his special assistant, I worked closely with Susan Stroud and Jack DeGoia, to help plan the first meeting of college presidents. Invitations went out to about a dozen college presidents and a few media and national leaders including John Gardner. Everyone came and the enthusiasm in the room was palpable. They were presented with guiding principles of the role of public service in higher education and the idea that college presidents should be leaders in this movement. Within a few short weeks, more than 100 university presidents signed on to the principles and the plan of action for what became known as Campus Compact.   

The three founding presidents chaired Campus Compact for the first three years.  Don’s rare combination of sharp intellect, savvy political intuitions, and a very quick sense of humor made the meetings enjoyable and productive. Don led the Compact’s early work on service learning, finding ways to encourage faculty to integrate service into the curriculum and to share best practices through the national Campus Compact.  The number of college presidents engaged with Campus Compact grew rapidly, and in 1988 Don partnered with UCLA Chancellor Charles Young to launch California Campus Compact. This spurred the creation of a state and regional network for Campus Compact and resulted in over 1000 higher education institutions joining Campus Compact over the next 30 years.

Don left his mark on thousands of colleges and universities in this country. He also helped to encourage Congress to create the Commission on National and Community Service, which led to the launching of AmeriCorps and Serve America. Helping to create Campus Compact was one of the accomplishments that made him the proudest and happiest. There are countless students who have been impacted by his vision and hard work.

To learn more about Don Kennedy’s life and accomplishments, read “He Changed the Face of Stanford”.

Dick Cone – A personal reflection on his contributions to California Campus Compact

Dr. Richard E. Cone (simply and fondly called “Dick” by his colleagues) passed away on April 3, 2020.  He was a leader in the national dialogue on experiential education, civic engagement and service-learning since the 1970s. He provided a guiding spirit and voice in the development and evolution of California Campus Compact since its beginnings more than 30 years ago. I met Dick Cone in 1999, just prior to becoming the director of California Campus Compact (CACC). We met at a service-learning meeting and I was fortunate to work closely with him on various projects and initiatives over the next 20 years.

As the director of the University of Southern California’s Joint Education Project (JEP), Dick emphasized the importance of building strong, authentic, and reciprocal relationships with the community.  In 1999, California Campus Compact created the Richard E. Cone Award for Excellence and Leadership in Cultivating Community Partnerships to honor Dick and to recognize an exemplary leader in the field of community engagement whose work has had a positive impact on campus and in the community, and who is guided by the best practices of community-campus partnerships.  Dick was the first recipient of the award and was involved in selecting each subsequent winner of the award.

Dick was instrumental in moving the service-learning and community engagement work forward in California. For a decade, he hosted regional gatherings in Southern California. These networking gatherings offered community engagement and service-learning professionals the opportunity to share resources and practices with each other. These gatherings were critical at a time when service-learning was marginalized in higher education. While Dick didn’t like to be in the spotlight – preferring to hear the voices of others – there is no question that he was influential in developing a strong network of service-learning leaders in California.

After his retirement from USC, he continued to stay involved with CACC and the national community-engagement field.  Dick was passionate about our democracy and the leadership of the younger generation. In 2002 when Campus Compact received a grant focused on youth engagement, Dick led CACC’s implementation of the Raise Your Voice Campaign, designed to encourage college students to get engaged in civic activities and to speak out on issues of importance to them.

In 2015, Dick had the idea of replicating the seminal 1995 Wingspread meeting that he participated in. He shared his idea with Tim Stanton and CACC, and together we created and implemented The 2017 Gathering: An intergenerational and international dialogue between service-learning pioneers and those who will build and sustain the field in the future. The purpose of this gathering was to engage in critical, cross-generational review and reflection of the service-learning field, to identify and address the field’s current challenges, to explore successful strategies, and to revisit the roots of the practice to deepen our understanding of how incorporating community service into the life blood of academic institutions improves instruction, empowers communities and enhances the civic life and skills of young people.

Throughout his career and in retirement, Dick modeled authentic and selfless leadership. He was a mentor to many in the field, including me. He supported and guided me in my leadership and professional development.  I recall receiving many long philosophical emails, asking the tough questions and encouraging us to “make the road by walking”. I have fond memories of dinners with Dick and Jean at their lovely home and felt so honored to get to see the other talents Dick had (his woodworking was beautiful, as were the gardens at his home).  Dick led the charge for a more just and equitable world through community engagement in higher education. Dick was a teacher, fighter, mentor, guiding light, colleague, and friend. He touched so many lives and we are all better for having known him.